Are your ears ringing because of robocalls?
Companies use technology to blast out thousands of automated calls a minute to cellphones all over the country.
"I have a landline, I know I get them there but the last six months I've been getting them on my cellphone so it's a little irritating," Rick Broberg, who gets telemarketers on his cellphone, said.
Broberg isn't alone.
"Normally it's a blank pause and then it's some voice," Emma Copas, from Shawnee, said.
It's commonly known as cellphone spam, and the FTC said 4 billion computerized robocalls were made to cellphones last year.
Many now spoof their number, making it appear that the IRS or local law enforcement is calling.
But the good news is that several apps will now block them.
Top rated blocking apps for smartphones include:
"Privacy Star," which lets you block specific numbers, and see who's really calling.
"Mr. Number"
"Calls Blacklist"
"True Caller"
But the most popular is "No Mo Robo" which works on Internet-based landline phones as well as iPhones and Androids.
Its founder, Aaron Foss, recently told Congress the Do Not Call list no longer works.
Foss' $5 a month service compares your incoming call with a list of millions of robocallers and sends questionable calls to your voicemail, where most scammers will not leave a message.
A somewhat different service is "Burner," which gives you a temporary phone number to share with businesses.
For $5 a month you get a disposable phone number you can change whenever annoying sales people start calling you.
"That car salesperson is going to try to put you behind the wheel and they are going to try to get your contact information, and believe me they are going to call and text you!" Greg Cohn, CEO of Burner, said.
That’s something Copas doesn't want.
"Stop calling me, just stop, take my number off," Copas said.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com
